Culinary Provisions for the Wild: &SONS Recipes For The Rogues By Thom Axon

There is a specific kind of magic that happens when the sun dips below the ridgeline, the woodsmoke begins to curl into the crisp evening air, and the belly starts to rumble. In that moment, you don’t need a sous-vide machine or a delicate reduction; you need honest, hearty sustenance that rewards a day spent on the trail.

This ethos of rugged, outdoor gastronomy is precisely what has been captured in the pages of &SONS Recipes For The Rogues By Thom Axon. More than just a collection of instructions, this is a field companion for the modern pioneer, a small book with a remarkably big soul that begs to be stuffed into a rucksack side pocket and taken wherever the map ends.

The author, Thom Axon, is the founder of Off The Beaten Pot and a long-time friend of the &SONS brand. First met around the embers of an annual Wild Retreat, Thom is the quintessential outdoor cook—the kind of talented individual who can conjure a feast out of a seemingly empty pantry and a handful of dry kindling.

His approach to food is refreshingly devoid of pretension. Inside, you won’t find complicated techniques that require a culinary degree; instead, you’ll find hard-working, field-tested dishes designed to thrive in the wild. We are talking about one-pan dinners that satisfy the deepest hunger, campfire breakfasts that provide the fuel for a mountain ascent, and fireside desserts that turn a simple evening under the stars into a celebration.

What makes this pocket-sized cookbook truly special is its deep-rooted sense of history. The aesthetic of the book is a tribute to the post-war pioneers—those adventurous souls who headed into the hills with nothing but surplus military kit, frayed rope, and an insatiable itch to see what lay beyond the next ridge.

The pages are punctuated with grainy, archival family photos from the 1940s and 50s, showing grandparents balanced on boulders with rolled sleeves and a quiet look of defiance. It is this spirit of ingenuity and resilience that permeates every recipe. Thom’s dishes are designed to be cooked simply over an open flame with whatever you can carry, reflecting a time when “eating well” was synonymous with “eating honestly.” Priced at a very accessible £9.99, this book is an absolute steal for anyone who values the ritual of the fire. It even comes with a limited-edition recipe card featuring a riff on the legendary crumble shared at an &SONS Retreat—the kind of proper, stripped-back comfort food that tends to make a group of boisterous hikers fall into a silent, appreciative reverie.

But perhaps the best thing about this book is its intended lifecycle. This isn’t a coffee table book meant to stay pristine and dust-free. &SONS and Thom Axon actively want you to dog-ear the pages, let the smoke from the fire stain the cover, and allow the occasional splat of stew to mark your favourite chapters. It is built for real, messy, glorious use. Recipes for Rogues is an invitation to reconsider the way we eat when we step away from the glowing screens and humming refrigerators of modern life. It’s for the man who likes his kit worn-in and his stories told around a bed of glowing coals.

Whether you are a seasoned woodsman or someone just looking to improve your backyard fire-pit game, this book provides the tricks and turns needed to stretch ingredients and lift flavours even when the wind is up and your only table is a fallen tree. It is a celebration of generosity, fire, and the enduring itch for adventure.

buy now | £9.99